Several people have asked me to post of the story of how this particular Ebenezer that we dedicated this past Sunday came to be … First, a little background:
The word “Ebenezer” is derived from two Hebrew words put together to name a location. It is usually transliterated as a proper name by dropping the definite article (Ha) from the Hebrew word for “help” (Ezer) and putting it together with the Hebrew word for “stone” (Even) to create: “Ebenezer.” The etymological roots of the word, thus defined, should demonstrate that an “Ebenezer” is, literally, a “Stone of Help.”
On February 17, 2008, Ebenezer Baptist Church gathered for a combined worship service to celebrate 230 years of ministry. At the end of that service, each worshiper was challenged to place a stone on a pile of stones to mark the fact that God has helped us, individually and as a church, to this place. Afterwards I wondered aloud “What will we do with all of these stones?? If God gives you a vision for this, please let me know.” Shortly after that, Haley Wightman told me she had a vision for what we could do. What if we made a monument to God from these?? Jim Stamp had a similar idea. These two talked and the current iron heart you see was a result of that (and of YEARS of work by Jim, who probably has THOUSANDS of hours in this project.) Through the efforts of many church members (and a lot of extra effort by our Church Administrator, Dusty Kertis, and Tory Brown), the concept of our own Ebenezer was fabricated and placed. The monument you see before us IS OUR EBENEZER. The stones in this monument are the very stones that we placed on that pile 6 years ago.
However … let it be known to the entire world that THIS IS NOT AN IDOL. WE DO NOT WORSHIP THIS EBENEZER. But we love and revere the One True God, and this monument serves as a reminder of His hand in our lives, as individuals AND as a body of believers known as Ebenezer Baptist Church. May He and He alone receive all of the glory in this stone of help!!
The Random Thinker 
Leave a Reply